McPrice Myers "High on the Hog" Red Blend

I can’t imagine Grandma Myers and Robert Parker agreeing, but hey, when it comes to her grandson’s wine – they do! Indeed, this is a delicious and easy-drinking wine that Wisconsin needs more of!

Two decades ago, McPrice “Mac” Myers started crushing grapes and making wine in southern California all along the Central Coast. As you might gather from the picture above, not only is he a grape-guru, he’s also darn good at making wines that say “come and drink me.”His two-decade-long career led to some noticeable highlights where the wine cognoscenti helped build his business – a portfolio of great clients that he was making wine for, earning top marks with, and selling all that he could create.

In 2014, Mac had matured his “fingers in all pies” approach into his own eponymous winery. Then, in 2018, he got an even bigger break – a PhD in Molecular Genetics walked into the tasting and fell in love with his wines – Venus Lai. Part of Venus’s career had also been in fermentation science, and little did she know that this would soon become a focus in her life. Mac and Venus struck up a friendship, and luckily enough Venus owned two biotech companies, so funds were available to re-establish and brand a new top-notch winery with its own vineyards and start crushing out great wines. This is one of ’em.

As Mac notes, “High on the Hog is a wine you can drink for any occasion. Around the holiday dinner table in the Myers house, my grandmother would always look proudly around at her family all gathered round the dishes piled high with food, and say, ‘we are really living high on the hog, aren’t we?’ This blend is in memory of Grandma and her joy at seeing the family doing well.” And this is superb drinking:

Aromas of macerated maraschino cherries, dark plums, and strawberry reduction all play on the foreground of the nose. It’s a “Rhone-ish” blend so I would associate all of those notes with the Syrah. Petite Sirah, the next major variety, brings up notes of sweet baking spices, dried flowers, black currants and anise. The midpalate is plump, ripe and powerful – there is no shyness here— and it finishes with generosity and richness. 

So how about living a little high on the hog yourself? Go ahead with this wine, you certainly won’t regret it. 

“93 points. The 2020 High on the Hog is a blend of 48% Grenache, 26% Petite Sirah, 7% Syrah, 7% Zinfandel, 5% Mourvèdre, 5% Malbec and 2% Lagrein. It has a deep ruby color and scents of tar, iron, underbrush and cured meats with a core of red cherries and potpourri. The medium-bodied palate is soft, supple and alluring with a long, floral finish. This is delicious and very easy to drink! Best After 2023.” – Wine Advocate